Ralph Miller

Originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year. Presented as archival content. Learn more.

This article was originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year, an annual print publication that
provides an overview of the year’s most-notable people and events.
Unlike most articles on Britannica.com, Book of the Year articles are not reviewed and revised after their initial publication.
Rather, they are presented on the site as archival content, intended for historical reference only.

Ralph Miller, (born March 9, 1919, Chanute, Kan.—died May 15, 2001, Black Butte, Ore.), American basketball coach who was one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball. Miller coached at Wichita (Kan.) State University from 1951 to 1964, at the University of Iowa from 1964 to 1970, and at Oregon State University from 1970 until his retirement in 1989. He compiled a 657–382 record in his 38 seasons, and his total of 657 victories was the seventh best among major-college basketball coaches. Miller was twice voted National Coach of the Year, in 1981 and 1982, and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

EXPLORE these related biographies:

American basketball player and coach, the first coach to win both a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s national championship and a National Basketball Association (NBA) title. Few people have coached basketball in as many places, with as much success, as Brown. He earned a reputation as a teacher who was capable of getting...

American basketball player, coach, and general manager who spent four noteworthy decades with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A frail youth, West overcame his early physical shortcomings by putting in long hours practicing his shot and developing the quick release that would become his signature. He grew dramatically...

American college basketball coach who amassed the most coaching victories in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball history while leading the Duke University Blue Devils to five national championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015) and 12 Final Four (championship semifinals) berths. As a high-school basketball...